Machine for cleaning grain, seed and the like



Jan. 17, 1961 I. K. L. ANDREN MACHINE FOR CLEANING GRAIN, SEED AND THELIKE Filed June 24, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENT OR ATTORNEYS Jan. 17,1961 1. K. L. ANDR EN 2,963,399

MACHINE FOR CLEANING GRAIN, SEED AND THE LIKE Filed June 24, 1957 3SheetsSheet 2 I9 l'gl. L

ATTORNEYJ Jan. 17, 1961 4 l. K. L. ANDREN 2,

MACHINE FOR CLEANING GRAIN, SEED AND THE LIKE File; June 24, 1957 3Sheets-Sheet 3 I I 1; \g# I I I I l l l V I I 9 I 4 I has I /0 I I2 I II I l I I I I /a I I I l I q INVENTOR ATTORNEYS United States PatentMACHINE FOR CLEANING GRAIN, SEED AND THE LIKE Ingmar Karl Linus Andi-en,Lindesberg, Sweden, assignor to Aktiebolaget Linde Maskiner, Lindesberg,Sweden, a corporation of Sweden Filed 1011824, 1957, SE!- NO 667,337Claims priority, application Sweden Oct. 31, 1956 9 Claims. (Cl. 209 30)The present invention relates broadly to a machine for cleaning grain,seed and the like.

More particularly, the invention relates to such a cleaning machineincorporating an improved aspiration chamber and the channel or conduitsystems associated with such chamber. The prior art grain cleaningmachines have been constructed in such a way that it is only withdifiiculty that a cleaning machine and its various auxiliary devices canpresent a compact construction and still provide for readyaccessibility, as regards continuous inspection of the'vital parts.

It is to be understood that a complete cleaning ma- :chine is one whichincludes, feeding arrangements, such as, a bin having distributionroller or rollers, screening means, one or more fans or blowers and thevarious chambers and conduits connected to the-suction or exhaustconnections of such fans or blowers and through which waste or partiallyused material, such as half grains or the like, pass and a dischargearrangement for discharging the completely cleaned grain or othermaterial p "In connection with the foregoing object, the cleaningmachine of the invention incorporates a scarifier and separator means sothat the constructional costs of the machine are substantially reducedin comparison with a cleaning machine in which the auxiliary mechanismsare independent and separate units supported separately from thecleaning machine. 7

It is a further object to provide a cleaning machine including a casingwithin which are associated air cur rent establishing means andchambersor conduits and air channels through which material to be cleaned and'waste materials flow for the separation and withdrawal 'of variousimpurities, waste material, and the like,

Specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a cleaningmachine including plural air channels, an

,aspiration chamber divided into two compartments re- ,spectivelycommunicating with one of said air channels andin which one of saidchannels is arranged horizon- .-ta11y so that the wall defining one sideof the channel also constitutes the ceiling of the aspiration chamber.

Since air channels in cleaning machines are generally of rectangularcross section and of substantially larger .width than depth, the airvelocity blowing through the horizontal channel isnot uniform throughoutits entire .cross section because friction eife'cts, that is, skinfriction along the short sides or ends of the channel and particu-..larly in thecorners establishes the condition in which :for a certaindistance inwards from the .-respective.short gsides the velocity .islower than it is in the mid-portion ;of the channel.

Consequently, particles of material can .depqsitqr a cumula e alerts theshsvr s swt h the bin.

ice

nel particularly in that portion of the wall which con sti-tutes theceiling of the aspiration chamber.

Accordingly, theinvention has for a further object to provide for theentry of additional air from outside the machine into the horizontalchannel so that the air velocity is increased and the conveying currentof air has a greater carrying capacity thereby diminishing thepossibility of precipitating material in the channel.

Accordingly, it is the specific object of the invention to provide amachine for cleaning grain or the like material including a casingstructure having two immediately adjacent aspiration chambers therein,air channels in communication with each chamber, air currentestablishing means associated with each chamber and one of the airchannels being horizontal, feed means for material to be cleanedassociated with the horizontal air channel and additional air conduitmeans communicating with the horizontal air channel adjacent the lateraledges thereof downstream of the material inlet for supplying addi tionalair to the horizontal channel at the opposite lateral sides of thischannel. v

Further and more specific objects will be apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a longitudinally sectional view'through a cleaning machineconstructed in accordance'with the invention. 4

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along lines 2 -2--'c Figure l.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on lines 3-3 of Figure 4and illustrating a portion of the struc ture shown in Figure l. v

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Figure 3.

In the drawings the cleaning machine of the invention includes a casingstructure having spaced front and rear walls 30 and 31 and opposite sidewalls 32 and 33. A vertically arranged partition 34 spaced inwardly fromthe front wall 30 defines a vertically disposed updraught air channel 9.This channel is open at its lower end as shown in Figure 1 so that anair current can be induced to flow upwards through channel 9. An arcuatepantition 35 extends above the upper terminal edge of partition 34 sothat the air current and material accompanying the same that flows upthrough channel 9 is deflected downwardly into an expansion andcollecting pocketl6. The interior of the casing includes two slopingpartitions 36 and 37 each defining the bottom of an expansion pocket,the other one of which is denoted at 17. The partition 22 separates thepockets so that they constitute immediately adjacent aspirationchambers. Suction fans 18 and 19 are mounted adjacent the opposite walls32 and 33 on the interior of the casing, one of these'fans establishesan air current through channel 9 and pocket 16 to exhaust while theother fan establishes an air cur- .rent in pocket 17 and in a horizontalair channel denoted at 12. The air channel 12 is defined between theopposite side walls 32 and 3.3 of the casing by a'top from the frontwall 30 so as to provide for the entry of air beneath the feed roller 7'beneath the bottom jof V A distributing roller 6 is mounted. in the'binabove the feed roller 7. On the top ,wallfifiofth'e is mounted ascarifier having an intake} denoted t t ,Behind the scarifier is avertical pre cleaning chan e 2 having grain intakes at its top denotedat 1 1 .tlirdugh whichgrainor other material tobe cleaned is introducedh e ifier aet as fi t a e-ears before the machine is constituted bychannel 12 and a damper 8 regulates the air velocity at the inlet end ofthis channel 12. A further damper 10 controls an opening in. thechannel. 12 that. extends across the top of, channel 12 andjcommnnicateswith. atmosphere through which additional air can be drawn into channel12.

When, the scarifi'er is used, grain is introduced through intake 1 andthen passes into the lower part of channel 2"throughdamper 4 where anair current draws away dust and waste. If the scarifier .is not used,damper 4 is'closed and grain is fed through intakes 11 through channel.2 where it; is pre-cleaned' and dust and, light particles are drawnaway through channel 13 with damper 3. open. When grain is deliveredfrom bin 5 over feed roller 7, it isintroduced into the transverse aircurrent which flows beneath the feed roller and then up pastthe damper8and. throughchannel 12. Since channel 12 is of rectangular crosssection and much wider than it is high, it is necessary to preventstoppage or undue precipitation of material along the opposite shortvertical side wallsiof the channel; Accordingly, the two additionalchannels 13 are arranged to extend between the upper portion of thevertical rear wall 29 of bin 5 and the top wall 38 of the casing. Thechannels 13 are inclined downwardly and communicate with the top wallof'channel 12 adjacent the side walls thereof at an acute angle so thatadditional air coming through channels 13 under control of thedamper 3increasesthe velocity of; air flow in the'cross section'of channel 12so'as to compensate for reduced air velocity that existed 'in thevicinity of and close to the short vertical side walls. of thechanneldue'to skin friction elfects 'wherebyprecipitation of material being.conveyed through channel. '12 isprevente'd. Dampers 14 and 15,respectively, regulate air velocity in channels 9 and 12, while 27denotes screw means which convey material out of the screw pockets 16'and 17. The material that falls through the air current beneath roller7 passes over screen means 21 which are inclined for delivery to asorter 20. A discharge conduit 24 extends below the trough thatcommunicates with sorter 20'and a damper or gate 25 controls delivery toeither the sorter or the trough 2.4. The arrow 26 denotes the directionof the induced air current that flows upwardly into channel 9 throughthe lower screen 21 for further separation of particles from thematerial that has been screened. A driving motor is denoted at 23 andsuitable connections extend from this motor to the shaft for fans '18and'19.

It is clear, therefore, that the present invention provides anarrangement which includes a casing having a horizontally arranged airchannel provided at the top of. the casing with the bottom of saidchannel constituting a'ceiling means overlying expansion and. collectionpockets, partition means separate the respective pockets from oneanother and the horizontal air channel communicates with one of saidpockets while further partition means define an updraught air channelwithin the casing communicating with the other pocket. Fan meansestablish an air current through both channels and material is fed intothe upper air channel. The invention further includes damper means forcontrolling velocity in the upper channel and air inlet means associatedwith the upper channel downstream of its material inlet and along thenarrow side walls thereof to permit entry of additional air into theupper air channel to'increaseair velocity throughout the cross sectionalarea of this channel, particularly at the opposite lateral ends of thechannel to compensate for the reduced air velocity existing at said endsdue to skin friction efiects.

On Figure 3, showing the inlet part of the cleaning machine in anenlarged scale, the same references have been used as on Figure 1.

The dampers 3, 8 and are hand-operated while the damper 4 of thescarifier 1 side wall is as well handoperated as spring-loaded (notshown on the drawing). The bin 5 is narrower than the channel 12.

On Figure 4 showing the arrangement according to Figure 3, seen fromabove, the references refer to the same details as in Figures 1 to 3. Inthis case one can clearly see that the bin 5 is narrower than thechannel 12. The channels 13 are inclined downwardly and communicate withthe channel 12 adjacent the side walls. Numeral 11- refers to .the.inlet channelsfor the. material in those cases when the scarifier 1 isnot used. Numeral 3 refers to the damper in the channel 13, and 3denotes itsaxle, numeral 4 refers-to-the damper of. the scarifier 1 sidewalls, and 4 denotes its axle.

As indicated previously, the'structure of this invention is such that,thegmaterial to: be cleaned can-be fed to opening 1 into the scarifierpast damper 4 into the bin 5 in which event with damper 3 opensometprcclea'ning can be effected in channel 2 while the principal inletto channel 12 is from beneath bin or hopper 5. Alternatively, the damper4 can be closed and material fed direct through intakes 11 for passagethrough bin or hopper 5 over roller 7 and to the air current enteringthe inlet to channel 12. The. opening in thetop wall of channel 12downstream of the damper 8 and controlled by damper 10 admits additionalair throughout substantially the complete transverse extent of channel12. The flow into channel 12 under the control of dampers 10 and 3 areindependent of one another. In other words, additional air may enterthrough channels 13 under the control of damper 3 independently of theopening controlled by damper 10 or additional air can enter through theopening controlled by 10 independentlyof flow through channels 13.Ordinarily, one or the other of these supplies of additional air. issufficient, however, there are occasions where using the additional airflowing through channel 13 under control, of. damper 3 the velocity isnot increased sufiiciently and accordingly the damper controlling theopening ,10 can be opened to supply any deficit.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for cleaning grain, opposed pairs of exterior wallsdefining a casing, partition means within the. casing defining twoadjacent expansion and collection pockets, means at the bottom of eachpocket for withdrawing settled material, fan means having an inletcommunicating with each pocket and an exhaust exteriorly of the casingfor sucking air through each pocket, said partition means including avertical partition within the casing adjacent. one. exterior wall andhaving a depending portion extending beneath the casing, said oneexterior wall also having a depending portion extending below the pocketadjacent thereto and beneath the casing so that the space between saidone exterior wall and said vertical partition constitutes a channel incommunication atits upper end withthe interior of said one pocket, thesaid depending portions of the vertical partition and one exterior walldefining an open. lower end constituting a first inlet, horizontalpartition means extending from said one exterior wall above said firstpartition means toward and terminating short of the opposite. exteriorwall, a top spaced above said horizontal partition means whereby saidhorizontal partition means defines the top of said pockets and the spacebetween the top of the casing and the top of said horizontal partitionmeans defines a horizontal air channel, a damper controlled materialinlet for said horizontal air channel adjacent the upper portion of saidone exterior wall, means for feeding material to be cleaned to saidmaterial inlet including a bin means mounted adjacent said dampercontrolled inlet, extending thereabove and including a wall extendingabove the top of the casing, said bin having a lower outlet along sideof said damper controlled'material inlet, screen means below the outletof said bin means and including a first portion adjacent tosa r'd dampercontrolled material inlet-whereby material falling from the outlet of'said bin means and prior to being screened can be drawn intosaidhorizontal channel, said screen means including another portiondisposed beneath the open lower end of said first-mentioned inletwhereby material discharged from the bin means and subjected to acurrent of air so that some of the material is drawn into and throughthe horizontal channel so that impurities are separated therefrom in thepocket remote from said one exterior wall and other materialpassesthrough said current of air and moves along the screen meansto saidanother portion thereof that passes beneath said firstmentioned inletwherein additional material remaining on said another portion of saidscreen means is drawn into said first-mentioned inlet and passes intothe pocket adjacent said one exterior wall of the casing for treatmentin said last-mentioned socket.

2. Ina grain cleaning machine as claimed in claim 1 and dampercontrolled air conduits extending between said bin means from a pointabove the top of the casing to and communicating with said horizontalchannel adjacent the opposite side edges thereof downstream of thedamper controlled inlet.

3. In a machine for cleaning grain, seed, or the like material, acasing, means within the casing and including a generally verticalpartition defining two immediately adjacent aspiration chambers,separate exhausting means communicating with each chamber, inlet channelmeans communicating with the respective chambers including one channelmeans having an inlet adjacent one wall of the casing and extending pastone chamber and terminating in communication with the other chamber andanother channel means communicating with said one chamber and having aninlet also adjacent said one wall of the casing whereby the inlets forboth channel means are located on the same side of said one chamber,said inlets being vertically displaced with respect to one another,means for feeding material to be cleaned to pass immediately adjacentthe first-mentioned inlet whereby some of the fed material can be drawninto said first-mentioned inlet and into said other chamber fortreatment therein, screening means disposed below said first-mentionedinlet for receiving material that has not been drawn into saidfirst-mentioned inlet, said screening means including a portion passingin proximity to said second-mentioned inlet wherein material remainingon said another portion of the screening means can be drawn into thesecondmentioned inlet and conveyed to said one chamber for treatmenttherein.

4. In a machine for cleaning grain, seed or the like, as claimed inclaim 3, in which said one channel means includes a horizontal portionextending over said one chamber, and including a generally horizontalpartition within the casing which constitutes a top for both chambers.

5. In a machine for cleaning grain, seed or the like, as claimed inclaim 3 in which said one channel includes a generally verticallydisposed inlet portion, said other channel being vertical and having aportion of its length immediately adjacent the vertical inlet portion ofsaid one channel.

6. In a machine for cleaning grain, feed or like material, a casing,means within the casing and including a generally vertical partitionmeans defining two immediately adjacent aspiration chambers, separatefan means for establishing an air current through each chamber,

each chamber having an outlet in communication with its associated fanmeans, separate inlet channel means for each chamber, each inlet channelmeans having an inlet into which material to be cleaned enters and anoutlet in communication with its associated chamber, one of said inletchannel means being horizontal and extending over one chamber toterminate at its outlet in communication with the other chamber, saidhorizontal channel means including a wall means constituting the top ofsaid chambers, the inlet for said horizontal channel means including anopen ended inlet portion disposed exteriorly of the casing and adjacentsaid one chamber,

- means including a portion that passes in proximity with saidsecond-mentioned open ended inlet portion whereby material remaining onsaid last-mentioned portion of the screening means is drawn into thesecond-mentioned open ended inlet portion and conveyed to said onechamber for treatment therein.

.7'. In a machine for cleaning grain, feed or like ma- .terial,.-acasing, means within the casing and including lage'nerally' verticalpartition means defining two immediately laterally adjacent aspirationchambers, a fan means associated with each chamber for establishing anair current therethrough, each chamber having an outlet in communicationwith its associated fan means, separate inlet channel meanscommunicating with each chamber and through which material to be cleanedis conveyed by the respective air currents, one of said inlet channelmeans being horizontal and extending over one chamber to terminate in anoutlet in communication with the other chamber, said horizontal channelmeans including a wall means constituting the top of both chambers, saidhorizontal channel means having a material inlet portion including anopen end disposed exteriorly of the casing, said horizontal channelmeans having at least one opening therein downstream of said open end ofthe material inlet portion, damper means controlling said opening sothat additional air can be drawn into said horizontal channel means toincrease the velocity of flow therein, the inlet channel means for saidone chamber including an open end exteriorly of the casing and at alevel below said first-mentioned open end, means for feeding material tofall by gravity past said first-mentioned open end so that some of thefed material can be drawn into said horizontal channel means anddelivered to said other chamber for treatment therein, screening meansalso below said first-mentioned open end for receiving and screeningmaterial that has fallen past said first-mentioned open end and thusthrough the air current entering the same, and said screening meansincluding a portion that passes said second-mentioned open end adjacentthereto whereby a size fraction remaining on said portion of thescreening means can be drawn into said second open end for delivery tosaid one chamber for treatment therein.

8. In a machine for cleaning grain, feed or the like material, a casing,means within the casing and including a generally vertical partitionmeans defining two immediately laterally adjacent aspiration chambers, afan means associated with each chamber for establishing an air currenttherethrough, each chamber having an outlet in communication with itsassociated fan means, separate inlet channel means communicating witheach chamber and through which material to be cleaned is conveyed by therespective air currents, one of said inlet channel means beinghorizontal, extending over one chamber to terminate in an outlet incommunication with the other chamber, said horizontal inlet channelmeans including a wall means constituting the top of both chambers, saidhorizontal channel means having a material inlet portion extendingexteriorly of the casing and terminating in an open inlet end, saidhorizontal channel means having at least one opening therein, downstreamof its material inlet and damper means controlling said opening so thatadditional air can be drawn into said horizontal channel means toincrease the velocity of fiow therein, the other inlet channel meansincluding an inlet portion disposed exteriorly of the casing and havingan open inlet end, a bin means mounted adjacent the top of the casingand having an upper inlet into which material to be clean d 7 and. aircan e nter, said bin means fiurther including a wall extending abovesaidhorizontal channel means, laterally spaced conduits, extendingbetween said wall and the top of saidhorizontal channel means andcommunieating with the latter at an acute angle at a locationdownstreamof said at leastone opening in the horizontal channel means sothat additional air can also be drawn in through said conduits and.directly into the horizontal channel means adjacent the lateral sidesthereof to prevent precipitation of material along the sides of the 10horizontal channel, said bin means having a lower outlet adjacent theopen inlet end of said horizontal channel means so that material fedfrom the bin means can fall past said last-mentioned open inlet end andbe subjected to an air current so that some of the material can be 15that has fallen through saidv air current for screening the 20 same,said screening means including a portion that passes the open inlet endof said other channel means whereby any lightweight size fractionremaining on the said screening means can be drawn into. said otherinlet channel means for delivery to saidone chamber for treatmenttherein.

9. A machine'for cleaning grain as claimed in claim 8 and damper meanswithin said two laterally spaced conduits regulating the flowtherethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS485,571 Barnard Nov. 1, 1892 850,959 Och Apr. 23, 1907 1,888,372Bramwell NOV. 22, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,083,169 France June 23, 1954

